2026 MAC Football Preseason Preview: UMass Minutemen

It was hard for a program to have a more difficult 2025 than the UMass Minutemen. However, numerous portal additions and returning talent give the program hope as it enters 2026.

Second-year head coach Joe Harasymiak has placed a renewed focus on being more tough and aggressive in camps leading up to the 2026 season.

Harasymiak's demeanor, indeed, has been focused on urgency for his team. At MAC Media Day in July, he express dissatisfaction about 2025, stating simply: "We gotta go earn things in this league."

"I think with [the program] being new, a lot of new people for us as a program, player-wise [and] coaching-wise, kind of some things were expected," Harasymiak explained. "[T]hat's what got us in a bit of trouble."

Now with games on the horizon, Harasymiak has continued to tell his players to stay the course, with an emphasis on violence, toughness and connection.

“I’ve talked about toughness and connection with this team since January,” Harasymiak said after the opening of fall camps. “We’ve got to be more connected. When you’re more connected, you care more, you become committed more and you become more consistent. And then the toughness part, we just got to keep pushing them mentally.”

Just what can we expect to see from a team which experienced the bleakest of outcomes the last time they hit the field?

What's New?

Despite the nightmare 0-12 campaign, there is not much turnover on the coaching staff. The only major change is at offensive coordinator. Max Warner takes over playcalling duties after the incumbent Mike Bajakian departed for Michigan State’s quarterbacks coach job.

MAC fans should be familiar with Warner. He was Bowling Green’s offensive coordinator from 2022 to 2024. Notably, he called plays for tight end Harold Fannin Jr.’s record-breaking 2024 campaign. Warner should be a welcome addition to the staff for the Minutemen.

A lot of the roster in general has turned over, with Harasymiak saying at MAC Media Days the team has essentially replaced all but a handful of players in his time in Amherst.

For 2026 specifically, 13 starting spots will be up for grabs between offense and defense up for grabs.

Offense

• Key arrivals: QB Pop Watson III (transfer from Virginia Tech), HB Justin Williams-Thomas (Marshall), OL Aitor Urionabarrenechea Jr. (Colorado State), Greg Klingensmith (William and Mary), Greg Knox (McNeese State)
• Key departures: QBs Brandon Rose, Grant Jordan and AJ Hairston; HBs Rocko Griffin and Brandon Hood; OLs Ryan Mossesso, Mao Glynn, Sullivan Weidman, Michael Entwhistle, Luke Painton
• Key incumbents: WRs T.Y. Harding and Kazion Dia-Johnson, OL Brock Taylor, TEs Max Dowling and Reece Adkins

William “Pop” Watson III will man the quarterback position for the Minutemen. While he may have drawn headlines for promising to do some... interesting things to the MAC, there is more to him than a viral sound bite.

Watson started three games for Virginia Tech in 2024, including the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against Minnesota. He showed his high potential in that year’s Commonwealth Cup against Virginia with 254 passing yards and 48 rushing yards.

Behind Watson, the Minutemen have no shortage of depth from the transfer portal. UMass also brings in Logan Inagawa, who had 1,393 passing yards and nine rushing touchdowns at Drake, and RJ Johnson from Florida A&M, who threw for 2,597 yards and 18 passing touchdowns to four interceptions last season.

The run game also receives a boost from the transfer portal. Jordan Washington leads the group after running for 340 yards at Murray State last season. Washington brings a spark in the passing game that UMass lacked out of the backfield last season. Washington caught 22 passes for 205 yards, more than UMass’s two leading running backs, Brandon Hood and Rocko Griffin, combined for last year. Justin-Williams Thomas, a four-star recruit who was the #22-ranked running back out of the 2022 class, also has a high ceiling. Finally, Elijah Faulkner returns for year two in the system after running for 114 yards last season. 

“Pop” Watson will have no shortage of weapons in the receiving corps. Despite most of the 2025 receiving corps departing, a familiar face headlines the unit. T.Y. Harding missed most of 2025 after averaging nearly 20 yards per catch on 19 receptions in 2024. He is also an effective returner, notching 109 punt return yards and 276 kick return yards in 2024. 

Joe Griffin returns to the Bay State after stops at Wisconsin and Boston College. Griffin did not do much at Wisconsin last year, but had 579 receiving yards in two seasons at Boston College. Devin Matthews also adds big-play ability after totaling 649 receiving yards and seven touchdowns at East Texas A&M last season. 

The tight end room may be the steadiest position group on the team. Max Dowling (20 receptions for 199 yards), Reece Adkins (nine receptions for 133 yards), and Jax Markovic (seven receptions for 38 yards) bring continuity to the passing game. 

The offensive line struggled mightily in 2025, allowing 34 sacks. Peyton Miller, Jaxon King, and Brock Taylor all return after seeing extended playing time ion 2025. Colorado State transfer Aitor Urionabarrenechea brings much-needed experience to this unit after playing in 12 games last year.

Defense

• Key arrivals: DT Hollis Dirstine (Bryant), DE Colin Reynolds (Holy Cross), DT Zakar Morris (UAlbany), LB Zachary Betts (St. Francis [PA]), LB Michael Robinson (Rutgers), SAF DD Snyder (Ball State), DB Isaiah Reed (Brown via UCF)
• Key departures: DLs Marques White (SMU), Ukudo Igernagu, Aquan Robinson, Shymell Davis and Tim Grant-Randall; LB Derreion Craig, DB Malcolm Green
• Key incumbents: DE Joshua Nobles (return from injury), LBs Timmy Hinspeter and Tyler Martin; DBs TJ Magee, Kendall Bournes and Zeraun Daniel

The UMass Minutemen have nowhere to go but up after allowing 39 points per game in 2025. Luckily, improvement should be easy with four of the six leading tacklers from 2025 returning. Big, 340-pound defensive tackle Tim Passmore, Jr. anchors the defensive line after making 15 tackles last season. FCS transfers Zakar Morris and Zachary Betts will join Passmore. Morris had 40 tackles for Albany last year, including 12 against Delaware State. Betts was disruptive at Saint Francis (PA), with 49 tackles, nine tackles for loss, and six sacks last year. He played arguably his best games against FBS opponents last year, with nine tackles against Buffalo and 1.5 tackles for loss against Louisiana-Monroe. All three look to replace the disruption Marques White brought with 11 tackles-for-loss last year.

The linebacking corps is easily the strength of this team. Tyler Martin returns after making 104 tackles. Timmy Hinspeter looks to build upon an injury-shortened 2025 campaign where he made 69 tackles in just seven games. Joshua Iseah comes to Amherst after a standout career at North Carolina A&T. Iseah, a 2023 Sports Illustrated Freshman All-American, finished 2025 with 83 tackles and four pass breakups.

Kendall Bournes and Zeraun Daniel lead the secondary from the safety position. Bournes made 62 tackles, while Daniel made 75. The cornerback position is more uncertain, but they have a potential star in Isaiah Reed. Reed played sparingly at UCF before suffering a season-ending injury, but he was one of the best cornerbacks in the FCS throughout his four-year career at Brown. After intercepting five passes at Brown in 2023, Reed landed on the 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl 1000. Reed can combine with Daniel and Bournes to create one of the MAC’s best secondaries. 

Special Teams

• Key arrivals: PUNTs Michael Streeter and Ed Phillipson; KOS Seamus McIntyre
• Key departures: PUNT Keegan Andrews
• Key incumbents: RET T.Y. Harding, PK Derek Morris

Despite going 0-12, UMass did have an All-American, punter Keegan Andrews. Unfortunately, he departs this year. The Minutemen should be in good hands with two other Australians, Edward Phillipson and Michael Streeter, replacing him. Derek Morris returns after an inconsistent 2025. Morris made two field goals over fifty yards last season, including a program-record 55-yard kick. However, he missed six field goals and two extra points. T.Y. Harding should handle punt and kick returns again. The Minutemen could use the spark. They returned nine punts for 43 yards and eight kickoffs for 160 last season.

Per Phil Steele, Seamus McIntyre, another late join to the roster, is expected to pick up kickoff duties.

Outlook

Overall, UMass should improve on last year’s 0-12 campaign. For starters, two FCS opponents are on the docket. Furthermore, the Minutemen have winnable games in conference against newcomer Sacramento State and a Ball State team that lost significant talent on offense.

The Minutemen can give their fans some desperately-needed hope for the future in a campaign that dodges the MAC favorites Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Toledo, and Ohio.

Schedule

All dates and times are current as of publication. An asterisk (*) denotes a conference game.